


"Fresh Start"

by AlineLovelace



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/F, Hopefully I did okay??, This is my first time writing anything for buffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 19:05:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17855315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlineLovelace/pseuds/AlineLovelace
Summary: When Faith wakes up from her coma, she realizes the world has changed while she was asleep. And the cherry on top is that no one remembers her at all.Prompt:“You really have no clue who I am?”“You’d think the confused looks and blank stares would’ve answered that for you.”





	"Fresh Start"

Faith jolted awake. Her heart started to race when she realized she didn’t know where she was. Cement bricks lined the walls and the floor consisted of a cement slab. A thin window sat on a wall, wedged against the ceiling. It let through a painfully small amount of light. The room radiated prison vibes. This definitely wasn’t her apartment. Faith blinked, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. She looked around, fully absorbing her surroundings: IVs snaked down her arms, cords monitoring her heart rate and respiration tangled, and her dingy yellow hospital gown.

Memories flooded through her mind as if a dam were breaking. She had to get to Graduation. Faith pulled herself out of bed, tearing the cords from her body. Her legs were shaky from laying down so long, but she could manage. She wandered aimlessly around the floor, searching for an elevator or even stairs. Faith needed to leave.

After several minutes, Faith spotted an elevator. She strode towards it. As soon as she pressed the button to go up, the door opened. A woman stepped out, holding a teddy bear. “Do you need a doctor?” she asked as soon as she eyed Faith. The hospital gown definitely made her look like some psych patient or something. Plus, she probably looked like crap. Being stabbed could do that to a person.

 Faith shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Just get out of my way.”

 The woman obliged and Faith stepped into the elevator. She was greeted with a rush of warm air. Faith was relieved; her hospital gown had too much air flow for being in a dank basement. Was that how they treated patients now? By throwing them in a basement to rot? Faith knew the police wanted to question her for murder investigations, but putting her in some gross basement was harsh. She stopped on the first floor and started to leave when a security guard grabbed her arm. “I’m sorry, miss. You can’t leave the building.”

 “Bet.”

 Faith grabbed the man’s arm and threw him over her shoulder. He hit the floor with a sickening crack. Everyone in the lobby was too shocked to react, so she took this opportunity to dash out the front doors into the city.

Faith decided her first line of action was to get clothes. She couldn’t run around town in a hospital gown; it would be too obvious she was a hospital escapee. Faith cursed under her breath. She should’ve stolen the woman with the teddy bear’s clothes. It was too late for that now. So Faith did the next best thing: she broke into a Goodwill and raided it.

 After slipping into a more comfortable outfit, Faith sprinted through town towards the high school. She figured she still had time before the mayor ascended. The closer she got, the worse the horrible feeling in her gut got. Even from a block away, Faith could tell the high school was destroyed. The building sagged, charred from an explosion. Her throat started to close. This meant the mayor was gone. Damn B killed him. He was dead. And soon B would be too. Faith put her face in her hands, giving herself a chance to process everything. A tear fell onto her jeans and made a dark blue splotch on the fabric. Her first coherent thought was that she needed to find Buffy so she headed straight to Giles’s house. Buffy was there about 80% of the time and she didn’t want to bother Joyce if she could avoid it. Joyce could be such a loudmouth sometimes.

 Faith peered into Giles’s window. Sure enough, Buffy and her little gang were all there. Faith crouched, waiting for Buffy to leave. Several minutes passed before Faith realized Buffy wasn’t leaving anytime soon. So she took direct action. Faith swung open the door and stormed in. She was met by blank stares. “Excuse me, can I help you?” Giles asked.

 Faith opened her mouth but no sound came out. Buffy stood up and walked towards her. “Are you okay? Do you need to lie down?”

 Faith took a step back. “Don’t you know who I am?”

 Buffy shook her head. “No, but you’d think the confused looks would answer that for you.”

 “Huh.”

 Faith stood there awkwardly. What was she supposed to do now? On one hand, this was the girl who killed the mayor. On the other hand, she was getting a redo with Buffy, something she’d wanted. Either way, explaining why she broke into this house would be difficult. Faith chose the easy option and took off running. She only made it as far as the sidewalk before a hand grabbed her and yanked her back inside. “We have to question you since you did that.” Buffy frowned. “You know, running away looks awfully suspicious.”

 Faith’s mind completely blanked; thoughts no longer flowed through her brain. She just acted. Faith punched Buffy in the face, buying her time to run out of the house. Sure enough, Buffy chased her, which was expected. Faith was prepared this time though. She sprinted as fast as she could, surprisingly fast for someone who just woke up from a coma. Every time Buffy gained on her, she would stop abruptly and let Buffy run past her. Then she would dash in another direction. Faith eventually managed to lose Buffy by running through a forest. She leaned against a tree, panting. Her head throbbed and she felt like passing out. Faith sat down and put her head in her hands. The last thing she remembered was thinking she needed to wash her hands; they smelled disgusting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Faith woke up and yawned. She attempted to stretch, but her arms were tied together. Faith launched into panic mode; she blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to get them to adjust to the light. There was a kitchen in front of her, so she deducted she was in a house somewhere. A few seconds later, Faith realized she was in Giles’s house. Buffy must’ve found her passed out in the forest. Faith was there to be questioned. In order to avoid her interrogation, she decided to pretend to sleep forever. It’s not like they could question someone unconscious. Sometime later, Faith could hear voices around her. "Is she awake yet?" she heard Buffy say.

"No, not yet," Giles said next; Faith could just imagine him cleaning off his glasses. "Who do you suppose she is?"

 "I dunno, but she sure gave Buffy a bruiser," Xander answered.

 "Maybe Buffy deserved it," another voice bluntly added. Faith didn't recognize the girl's voice, but she liked her already.

 "When is Willow going to get here? Maybe she could do a spell to wake her up," Buffy asked.

"I'm not sure," Giles replied. "I thought you were living with her."

 "She was out tonight."

 There was an awkward silence. "Should we just wake her up?" Xander said.

 "Sure." Faith was sure Giles was cleaning his glasses this time.

 Someone latched on the Faith's arm and shook her violently. Nails dug into her arm and Faith bit her lip. "Buffy! Not so rough!" Xander exclaimed, pulling Buffy's hand off of Faith's arm.

 "She's not getting up though," Buffy protested.

 "Doesn't mean you have to maim her arm."

 "Maybe smelling salts would help," Giles suggested.

 Faith heard footsteps and the clang of glass bottles knocking into each other. More footsteps and then a glass bottle was practically shoved up her nose. Coughs racked

 Faith's body and she forced herself into a sitting position so she could breathe. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes. Faith scowled at them. "What was that for?"

 Her question was ignored as the Scooby gang whispered amongst themselves what they should ask her. Buffy turned towards Faith and Faith was pleased to see a shiner on Buffy's left eye. "Who are you?" Buffy asked.

 "Your worst nightmare," Faith snarled.

 Buffy and Giles exchanged a look. "Are you a monster?"

 "Look, I'm not going to answer any of your questions until you answer one of mine. What's the date? Day, year, month."

 Buffy made a face at Giles and he shrugged. "It's February 11th, 2000," Buffy said, looking confused. "Why?"

 Faith choked on air, suddenly forgetting how to breathe; her heart sank. Her coma had lasted well over half a year. Being stabbed really sucked. "I just didn't know the date," Faith flippantly dismissed Buffy.

 "Are you a monster?" Xander asked, repeating Buffy's earlier question.

 "I'm the slayer."

 "No, I'm the slayer. Giles, I'm the only slayer, right?" Buffy whined.

 Faith rolled her eyes. "Well, Kendra did die. This may be her replacement," Giles sighed.

 "How do we know you're the slayer?" Buffy inquired.

"I'm equally as strong as you. I can go out into daylight. Need I say more?"

 "Fight-"

 "Buffy, no. Not now, not in my house." Giles put a hand out to stop Buffy from talking.

 While Buffy looked at Giles, Faith was able to get a good look at Buffy. Buffy looked as if she hadn't changed at all. She was as gorgeous as Faith remembered: flawless skin, soft sheet of blonde hair, glossed lips. Everything about Buffy was breathtaking. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Buffy interrupted Faith's thoughts.

 Faith raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Just admiring the view."

 Buffy's face flushed pink. "Does anyone have a lipstick or something? I'd like to freshen up," Faith asked, smirking at the reaction she got from B.

 The girl Faith didn't know tossed her a pink lipstick. Faith held her tongue; pink wasn't her color but it was better than nothing. Buffy leaned down and untied Faith's arms. Faith grabbed the lipstick and headed to the bathroom. She could hear the others whispering 'how did she know where the bathroom was?' and 'she got it right on the first try. Giles, even I don't do that.'

 Faith shut the door and peered at herself in the mirror for the first time in almost a year. She looked like trash. Bruises spotted her face and her hair was ragged. Faith grabbed a brush from the counter and started fluffing her hair. Next, she splashed her face with water and applied her lipstick. She didn't look great, but damn she looked so much better than before. All she needed was foundation and some dark lipstick. Faith left the bathroom and rejoined the group, just as Xander said: "Why is her face all bruised?"

Everyone's eyes widened and Xander slowly turned to face Faith. "Some bitch fucked up my face and put me in a coma. Then she murdered my father figure."

Buffy's mouth dropped open. "Oh my god, who would do that."

 Faith laughed. God, how ironic was that? She shrugged. "I forgot her name. You know, a coma can do that to a person."

 Buffy said something, but Faith had long past zoned out. She tried to pay attention but her gaze kept flickering to Buffy’s lips. The lips she wanted to kiss so badly. Faith locked eyes with Buffy and the blood in her veins froze. Buffy most definitely caught her staring at her lips. Then Buffy did the weirdest thing Faith could ever imagine Buffy doing (besides dating a vampire): she asked if she could take Faith outside to see if she was really a slayer.

Faith wasn’t surprised by the fact Buffy wanted to see if she was a slayer; that was completely understandable. The fact that Buffy wanted to be alone with her blew Faith’s mind. Faith tried to shake the thought out of her head. This is B we’re talking about, she thought. Just stupid Buffy who killed the mayor. You’re mad at her right now, so stop looking at her goddamn lips.

 Faith followed Buffy out the door. Buffy sat down on outside steps and Faith sat next to her. “We know each other, don’t we,” Buffy said slowly.

 Faith nodded her head slowly. “I don’t know why you guys don’t remember me. I know who you are, and who Xander is, and who Willow and Giles are.” She lowered her head. “Maybe it’s good you don’t know who I am. A fresh start is better.”

 Buffy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I have a question though.” Faith gave a nod, indicating Buffy should keep talking. “Were we...” It was Buffy’s turn to stare at the ground. “God this is crossing so many boundaries.” She looked up, meeting Faith’s eyes. Vulnerability was written all over Buffy’s face. “Were we dating?”

Faith’s heart skipped a few beats. She opened her mouth to say something, but Buffy beat her to it. “I mean, the way you look at me and everything.” She shrugged. “And you’re attractive too,” Buffy stammered before blushing deeply. “I’ll shut up now.”

Faith put her finger under the other girl's chin and tilted her head upward. She had been waiting for this moment for months (the months she knew Buffy and was conscious). Faith moved quickly, afraid Buffy would snap to her senses and remember who she was. She pressed her lips against Buffy’s, hard. Their teeth crashed together, but neither girl cared. Faith tangled her fingers in Buffy’s hair and Buffy gripped Faith’s shirt. The kiss was everything Faith had imagined and more. When she finally broke away, Buffy smiled at her, pink lipstick smeared across her mouth. “You knew who I was, didn’t you?” Faith asked slowly.

Buffy nodded. “You deserved a second chance, Faith.”

"After everything I did to you and your friends?" Faith raised an eyebrow. “And everyone was just okay with it?”

“It took a lot of convincing.”

“I can’t believe you’d do that for me.” Faith couldn’t help but grin. “And you knew who I was and you still kissed me.”

“You still never answered my question,” Buffy reminded Faith.

“What was your question?”

“Are we dating?”

Faith pulled Buffy in for another kiss. “Absolutely.”

 


End file.
